Phthalates in school supplies

6. Conclusions

The SCHER opinion states:

Phthalates in tested school supplies do not contribute
significantly to total exposure of children. Source: Ivaylo
Georgiev

3.5. General conclusions

Based on the evaluation of the report of the Danish EPA on
phthalates in school
supplies, SCHER concludes
that the phthalates in the articles tested do not significantly
contribute to the body burden of phthalates in children.
Analysis of exposure data on phthalates based on
biomonitoring show that
exposures to DEHP and other
phthalates in the general population, except DNBP, are below the
TDIs based on the comprehensive database on the toxicology of
these compounds. However,
DEHP exposures may exceed the TDI in specific populations (e.g.
exposure from medical devices, see SCENHIR-opinion). Moreover,
from the single available exploratory experiment SCHER has
estimated that biting off pieces from an eraser and swallowing
these particles also exceed the TDI by a factor of 4. This
exposure is still 25-fold below the NOEL of DEHP, which has been
obtained from long term experiments. Since swallowing particles
bitten off an eraser represents a short-time habit of children
or even a one-time event as outlined in the report it is
unlikely that this exposure leads to health consequences.
However, the SCHER stresses the great uncertainty of this
evaluation and proposes a migration study as outlined in its
opinion on Organic Chemicals in Toys (SCHER 2007).